It was even more exciting than usual to look over the draw for the 1973 French Open. 128 men, 64 women, and no senseless divisions. Margaret Court, queen of the Virginia Slims circuit, in the same bracket as Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong for the first time all year. Ilie Năstase and Jimmy Connors, flashy standouts of the USLTA’s winter indoor circuit, alongside Stan Smith and the pros of the World Championship Tennis tour.
“This is the way it should have been all the time,” said Jimbo. “We should all be together to find out the best in the world.”
The field wasn’t quite complete. Billie Jean King and Rosie Casals stayed home and would headline an event in Alabama instead. Rod Laver was injured. Ken Rosewall opted to rest, saving energy for what the 38-year-old believed would be his final shot at a Wimbledon title.
On the other side of the ledger was a surprise: Niki Pilić, suited up and ready to play. Suspended by the Yugoslavian federation for missing a Davis Cup tie, the French Open allowed him to enter while he waited for the ILTF to decide on his appeal. Most insiders just wanted the problem to go away. One journalist suspected that the tournament committee “will probably root for him to lose.”
Pilić was drawn to face Connors, the 12th seed, if both men reached the round of 32. On May 24th, they began their campaigns. Pilić had little problem with Hungarian qualifier Géza Varga, winning 6-4, 6-4. The tournament was experimenting with the rules: The first two men’s rounds were best-of-three, and for the first time, French Open sets would be decided by tiebreaks at 6-all.
Connors, however, wouldn’t last long enough to meet the Croatian. Making just his second appearance in Paris, Jimbo drew a tricky first-round opponent. Raúl Ramírez, a 19-year-old Mexican who had upset Tom Gorman to open a recent Davis Cup tie in Mexico, was probably no secret to Jimbo–he was the star freshman for the University of Southern California Trojans–and his comfort with the slow Parisian clay was enough for an upset. Ramírez played hard, competing for every point. Connors reached 5-3 in the second-set tiebreak, but a string of errant forehands gave away the lead and the match, 6-4, 7-6.
At the top and bottom of the draws, though, there were no surprises. Năstase, who was already 25-1 on clay courts for the season, straight-setted Chilean Jaime Pinto-Bravo. Smith overcame an early stumble to advance against Frenchman Georges Goven.
For Court, Goolagong, and Evert, the early going was a mere formality. None of the trio lost more than two games in a first-round set. Chrissie, making her first appearance at Roland Garros, was the most impressive of all. She disposed of Australian Marilyn Tesch, 6-1, 6-0, missing a double bagel only because of a pair of double faults.
Connors would have to wait to prove his mettle against the established order. But a long-awaited Evert-Court showdown was shaping up nicely.
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This post is part of my series about the 1973 season, Battles, Boycotts, and Breakouts. Keep up with the project by checking the TennisAbstract.com front page, which shows an up-to-date Table of Contents after I post each installment.
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